A trolley from Coles was all that Salamander Bay Rotarian Kelly Hammond needed to get her kindness trolley started.
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Kelly is also a part of the suicide prevention network and she said she recently took some goods over to the Tomaree Neighbourhood Centre.
"I watched it go into the pantry and I loaded it out of my car and into a trolley and I thought there has to be an easier way to connect the community to be able to give to those in need," she said.
Kelly then came up with the simple concept of the Kindness Trolley and she said her next step was to approach Coles with her idea.
"I spoke to Coles and the lovely lady there Michelle encouraged me to do it," she said.
Her first kindness trolley was a success, raising more than $1200 worth of goods, which resulted in wheeling four trolleys across to Tomaree Neighbourhood Centre.
"So many people were curious to know what we were doing and decided to add to the trolley of kindness," Kelly said.
The concept went so well that Kelly has decided she's going to do it once a month and the Kindness Trolley will be back out the front of Salamander Bay Coles next Thursday, July 11 from 1pm to 6pm.
"It's such a simple and easy concept and I want to see this last forever," she said.
Residents were putting in items such as Weetbix, shampoo and conditioner, canned food and women's sanitary items and Kelly said she was touched by her community's generosity.
"It was the people doing it toughest who were giving the most," she said.
"They came out and they told their life stories and how they felt really good that they were helping someone else."
The concept for the kindness trolley is as simple as fill a trolley and deliver a trolley and Kelly said she's so grateful to everybody that dropped an item in.
"It gives everybody the opportunity to give a little and people were so happy to give," she said.
The kindness trolley was also an opportunity for the community to ask where they could go to get a little bit of help if they were doing it tough.
"We've got people living on the street, in cars. Things that I've never seen in my lifetime," Kelly said.
Laura Rumbel
Laura Rumbel is a journalist who has always called Maitland home. She has been with the Maitland Mercury since 2022, and is passionate about all areas of local news.
Laura Rumbel is a journalist who has always called Maitland home. She has been with the Maitland Mercury since 2022, and is passionate about all areas of local news.
